Conference Overview

The Conference at MWC Shanghai will feature thought-provoking presentations from some of the mobile industry’s most influential executives, who will share their visions of the mobile industry while providing essential insights on current and future trends.

2018 Overview

The full conference and summit agenda will be available soon, but here is what you can expect:

Global Device Summit

Consumers several years ago were limited to premium smartphone choices within Samsung, Apple and a few well-engineered phones from other companies that could provide a great camera with smooth and fast app performance. Fast forward to 2018, consumers are spoiled for choices as overall development of smartphones from the APAC region continues to skyrocket.

The vast majority of consumers especially the savvy smart phone users, are generally multi-device owners and broadly accepts mobile devices as an essential. The adoption of items such as wearables makes possible R&D into new technology, improved functionality and new complementary devices become both financially and commercially viable.

This summit is the opportunity to bring together thought leaders of the most prominent device makers to share the region’s strategies, developments and new technologies that will change the mobile device industry.

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Leaders Stage:Building a Digital Society

14:30 – 15:45Digital Society: Bringing Hope to Distressed Areas

According to the World Bank, there are still millions of people living in extreme poverty. Digital and mobile once seemed very far away from the people who live in undeveloped areas.

That is no longer the case. The digital and mobile industries are changing the world and are bringing real hope to the people in need. To people in distressed areas, digital society not only means technology but also means a completely different world; it is a chance to access food and clean water, a chance for healthcare, a chance for education and a chance to do many previously impossible things. With the right funding and technologies, the digital and mobile ecosystem is making a remarkable impact on alleviating poverty.

Join this part of the Leader’s Stage to listen to the stories that need to be heard and discover the true power of the digital society.

15:45 – 17:00Navigating the new digital world of Lifestyle and Culture

Fashion, Music, Art and Film is the DNA of society.

It is these outlets for creativity which form the very fabric of living; shaping the identity and lifestyle of each demographic, each community and each country, throughout time, all around the world.

Today, the world of Lifestyle and Culture is rapidly evolving in the digital age. The digital enhancement of human creativity opens a range of innovations and is redefining the relationship between person and digital.

In this part of the Leader’s Stage we will give you a snapshot into how some of humankind’s oldest creative arts are being completely re-imagined, re-built and re-introduced.

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IoT Summit

As we are entering a digital future, machines and humans are getting more connected and can communicate with each other; IoT was just a concept few years ago, but now it is reality. In 2018 massive IoT adoption will be deployed globally, and we expect to see more to come. With the rapid development of 5G and AI technologies, many new IoT applications will be enabled, beyond what people can currently imagine.

Although IoT is evolving fast, industries are still facing many challenges such as security and cost. Learning and collaboration is still the key in order to deliver an IoT-enabled future that offers enterprises the intelligence, connectivity, responsiveness, interactivity, security and economy they need.

GSMA’s annual IoT Summit at Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2018 will continue to bring in all the key stakeholders in the industry to explore the latest developments in IoT technology, and discuss how this is affecting different industries. The conference will also discuss how to build security and safety into IoT technologies and applications for the benefit of society.

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Tomorrow’s Operator Summit

Asia is home for more than 4.4 billion people, the average age being just 30 years old. With a fast growing middle class, the economic potential for this mobile-first population is huge! The pace of life has accelerated and borders between physical and digital have blurred in society.

So, what role does the Network Operator play in this fast-evolving landscape?

Operators have the huge task of evolving their services to remain competitive in a hectic market place. We have gathered pioneers at the front line of innovation from across the mobile ecosystem to lead the Tomorrow’s Operator Summit agenda. The programme has been designed to tackle each problem facing Operators: being agile in your digital transformation, protecting your network, entertaining your consumers and financing 5G.

A brand new strategy blue print is needed to prepare for the consumer demands and network capabilities. Join us in this content-packed and invigorating Summit as we introduce you to Tomorrow’s Operator.

New for 2018!

Participants and Delegates Include:

Operator C-level and VP-level executives.

Executives throughout the vendor ecosystem.

Satellite, cable, content and MVNO players.

Content and media specialists.

TMT legal and financial experts.

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Marketing Excellence Summit

The telecoms industry has always been ultra-competitive, whether it’s tariff wars, data deals or the latest handset exclusives, yet the industry has not been the most creative when it comes to marketing and advertising. As the world undergoes daily digital transformation, challenges are further intensified as today’s connected consumers increasingly expect brands to engage with them across every available digital channel.

Where can operators look to, to invigorate their marketing methodology and strategies?

The Retail, FMCG and Banking industries to name a few, are constantly engaging their customers to ensure an excellent brand experience at each and every touch point. It prioritises ongoing relationship and audience engagement to effectively they grow their market share, client satisfaction and increase potential customers.

This summit will look at finding the perfect balance in adopting more agile and cost-efficient ways to increase campaign frequency, engagement, distribute promotions across multiple digital channels and measuring marketing performances.

New for 2018!

Lessons from beyond telecoms:

Marketing, branding, advertising and customer service experts.

Leaders from industries such as retail, FMCG and banking.

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Leaders Stage:Women4Tech

Women4Tech is the GSMA’s programme designed to address gender diversity in the mobile and adjacent industries. It focuses on industry action for female leadership in the digital age and supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5: To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Integrating gender equality into the mainstream of our work environments, sharing best practices and strategic advice.

Education, inspiring role models, thought leaders and career mentoring relationships are critical to bridging the gender gap.

Gender diverse teams make better decisions and mirror the societies they build for and communicate with.

The Women4Tech activities will include

Thought leadership presentations and discussions.

Presenting the Asia Mobile Award for Asian Women4Tech Leadership.

Speed coaching and networking.

Evening reception.

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Think, AI Summit

Artificial Intelligence is the engine of the fourth industrial revolution. AI driven services have infiltrated our daily lives already, with revenue set to surpass US$16 billion by 2022, and US$36.8 billion globally by 2025.

In 2017, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son predicted; 2047 will be the tipping point of when machines are exponentially smarter than humans are. So how should you prepare to shape your business in this journey to an intelligent and automated reality? What lessons have been learnt by other organisations and other industries?

In this Summit, we host the big discussions about how to integrate AI into society, followed by deep dives into a number of industries that are at the forefront of the AI Revolution. The opportunities are infinite; so we have handpicked a cross-section of companies and programmes working at the true edge of AI to inspire, educate and challenge you. Get a glimpse of the true potential of machine learning.

We look forward to welcoming you, as you join your peers from across Asia at this summit as we think big, we think AI.

New for 2018!

Likely Participants and Delegates:

AI and robotics experts.

Communications and IT providers.

Companies looking to invest in or use AI.

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Future Vehicles Summit

It is a disruptive time for the auto industry. Traditional vehicles are losing competitiveness to the new generation of vehicles with intelligent, immersive and digitally enhanced features. Car OEMs and disruptive market players must factor new technology trends into their innovation strategies or risk losing ground to those that do.

Apart from technology breakthroughs, in 2018 we will also see more national authorities launching policies, regulations and campaigns to accelerate the development of a new generation of personal and freight transportation. According to GSMA Intelligence’s forecast, the connected vehicle market will be worth $358bn by 2020.

The Future Vehicles Summit at MWC Shanghai will bring together the auto ecosystem to explore new technologies in the auto industries, and discuss the latest developments in some key areas such as car intelligence, autonomous driving, policies and regulation, new energy vehicles, security etc.

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5G Summit

With all the hype around 5G, it is easy to overlook the simple fact that most of the world will rely on 3G and 4G for years to come. However, the drive to 5G is leading to impressive technical developments that can also be applied to improve legacy networks. It’s getting easier and easier to deliver huge amounts of capacity at ever-decreasing costs without the need for a complete network overhaul. At the same time new forms of competition are becoming easier for both fixed and mobile players.

The movement to 5G brings with it a wide variety of new possibilities for businesses, citizens, governments and operators. If 5G is really going to deliver the revolution it promises, then it will take much more than technology. It will need a change in the way operators build out their networks; how they partner and how they run their business operations; the way their industry is regulated; the services they offer; and the revenues that they look for. We have seen that it is much harder to change ways of doing business than technologies – what does a 5G future require, and how can 3G and 4G players use this to improve their business?

At the 5G Summit we will examine the impact that the drive towards 5G has had so far across the globe – both directly, where operators are aggressively chasing 5G deployments, and indirectly with richer 3G, 4G and WiFi services.

Key messages:

Applications of 5G developments for 3G and 4G players.

Technology, Business and Policy discussions.

It’s about real business TODAY, not future technology.

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Leaders Stage:Better Commerce & Finance

09:30 – 11:00Future Commerce

Your customers are talking, are you listening? Digital-savvy consumers expect personalised shopping experiences, tailored choices, real-time responses, transparent interactions, and closer connections with the brands they support. Why? From wanting to feel empowered, to having their needs met, to wanting brands that reflect their priorities and beliefs. Millennials now are the dominant force; we look at what leaders need to be ready for, and how their companies can be ready to benefit from it.

11:00 – 12:00Better Commerce for Rural Areas

The advancement of digital has made building an inclusive economy for rural areas an easy transition compared to traditional brick and mortar developments. Such an advance will inevitably create fast-changing market conditions and drive rapidly changing patterns of consumption. Therefore, how should established business and larger corporations respond to these challenges? This session will show how corporations from different countries can learn from one another in creating their own rural commercial ecosystems.

12:00 – 13:00Lunch

13:00 – 14:00How Will eCommerce Continue To Develop?

14:00 – 14:45Security: The Forever Question

Securing your online transactions and finances is a constant battle; as security solutions are developed, state and criminal intruders are developing fresh exploits. Given the essential nature of personal finances and their connection to personal identity, we will share the latest updates in this constant battle.

14:45 – 15:15Afternoon Break

15:15 – 16:15The Phenomenal Development of Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s eye-watering price surge over the past year has drawn the attention of the world. It has proven to be an excellent financial instrument whether to help businesses and individuals to transfer cash abroad or store value. This session will highlight all the advantages of this phenomenon and why certain experts show caution to what may be an inevitable bubble burst.

16:15 – 17:00Blockchain Magic

It’s not just the currency aspect of Bitcoin technology that people think will transform the continent. The Blockchain technology which underpins cryptocurrencies is viewed as quite possibly the more important innovation. Find out why 2018 for blockchain is the equivalent of the 1994 to 1996 boom of the Internet and how this innovation might develop.